“Out of life’s school of war, what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” - Fredrich Nietzsche Nietzsche was a noted existentialist and nihilistic, a philosopher who basically boiled his view of life and the world to "Shit happens," something he didn’t coin but certainly could have if he were privy to late 20th century slang and all its trappings. It also made him the guy you probably didn’t want to get stuck talking to at a dinner party. That said, as a philosopher, he said lot

For the next three weeks, I'll be reprising previously posted stories, ramping up to a fresh start in 2026. Given the weather here in the Upper Midwest today, I thought it appropriate to share once again. Enjoy! ***** Absolute zero.   No, it’s not what I felt like in ninth grade when I walked on stage for the first time in a school play with my fly open. (True story.)   It’s also not what my high school football coach called me after I dropped the winning touchdown pass in ov

“Put your best foot forward.”   We’ve all heard it and probably used it at some point. And it’s good advice, I guess. But as I get older (and the number of things that remind of my advancing age is growing all the time), I’ve begun to question “superlative” phrases like this, especially when it comes to motivating myself.   A little background. The origin of “Put your best foot forward” may date as far back as the late 15 th  century, but more common is the thought that it wa